Perhaps one of the most pervasive of all hand tools is found in the general category of fastener drivers often called screwdrivers or the like. The typical screwdriver has existed for a great many years and typically utilizes a generally cylindrical often insulative handle having an elongated rigid metal shaft secured thereto at one end and terminating in a fastener engaging shape at the outer end. Most common fastener shapes utilize screwdrivers having so-called blade heads in which a chisel point or straight line blade is formed at the outer end which engages a correspondingly shaped fastener having a straight slot in its head. In another type of screwdriver known generally as a Phillips screwdriver, the driver head forms a tapered generally cruciform cross-sectional member having four orthogonally oriented tapered blades which engage a corresponding receptacle in the fastener head. Other variations of the typical blade or Phillips screwdriver have been developed for specialized uses such as fasteners having "one-way" receptacles suitable for use where removal of the fastener is to be resisted as well as other combination fastener designs which accommodate both blade and Phillips-type drivers. Other related devices similar in construction are known generally as fastener drivers and utilize specialized heads such as the well known star drive fastener drivers or those utilizing hexagonal sockets generally known as nut drivers.
Regardless of the fastener shape and driver head shape, such drivers are most typically used in a two-handed operation in which the fastener is maintained in engagement with the driver head with one hand while the other hand rotates the handle thereby starting the fastener into the receiving material or aperture. In most instances, this is satisfactory. However, in many circumstances such as operation in cramped spaces or difficult to reach fastener apertures, the user is unable to maintain a hand upon the fastener to secure it to the fastener head.
To meet this difficulty, practitioners in the art have developed a variety of fastener retainers of various designs. Such designs have included retainers having spring metal jaws which grip the fastener head and maintain it in contact with the driver head as well as magnetic retainers which employ magnetized driver heads for use with fasteners made of steel or other ferromagnetic material. In addition, other specialized fasteners and fastener head designs have been provided.
As would be expected in the face of such great demand, a variety of driver designs and apparatus have been provided by practitioners in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,498,351 issued to Edwards, et al. sets forth a SCREWDRIVER WITH SCREW-GRIPPING JAWS in which a generally conventional screwdriver having a generally cylindrical handle and elongated circular cross-section screwdriver shaft extending therefrom further includes a sliding sleeve and collar movable upon the screwdriver shaft. The sliding sleeve further supports a pair of spring jaws which are operatively moved from extended positions remote from the driver head to closed positions in proximity to the driver head to grasp the fastener head when the sleeve and collar are moved forwardly.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,789,601 issued to Lindberg sets forth a SCREW HOLDER FOR SCREW DRIVERS having a screw holder receivable upon a conventional screwdriver. The screw holder comprises a wire frame having elongated generally straight portions terminating in a pair of elliptical loop portions. The wire frame is slidably secured to the shaft of an otherwise conventional screwdriver by a sliding collar and is movable between a retracted position which withdraws the frame from the driver head and a gripping position in which the elliptical wire loops embrace opposed sides of the fastener head and maintain it in engagement with the screwdriver head.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,548 issued to Leibinger, et al. sets forth a SCREWDRIVER PARTICULARLY FOR SURGICAL PURPOSES having a surgical screwdriver utilizing a handle supporting an elongated generally circular cross-section shaft terminating in a screw engaging blade. A collar is slidably movable upon the screwdriver shaft and supports a pair of spring wire jaws which may be moved as the collar is moved upon the screwdriver shaft to engage the head of a fastener and retain it in engagement with the screwdriver blade.
While the prior art devices such as the foregoing described prior art devices have provided improvement in the art and in some instances enjoyed commercial success, there remains nonetheless a continuing need in the art for evermore effective fastener retainers for use with fastener drivers which are simultaneously easy to use and low in cost to manufacture.